The Celtics lost one of their key reserves in free agency as Luke Kornet is headed to the Spurs. Kornet agreed to a four-year, $41 million deal with San Antonio, a source confirmed to MassLive, as the big man got an expected big contract on the open market. ESPN’s Shams Charania was the first to report the deal.
Kornet, 29, enjoyed a breakout season with the Celtics as he earned consistent playoff minutes, doing so while playing on a veteran’s minimum contract. But that also meant he was a potential target for a team like San Antonio that had the means to sign the reserve to a lucrative deal.
Kornet had yet to get a big-time deal in the league, but he now gets some long-term security as he’ll back up All-Star big man Victor Wembanyama in San Antonio. He turned down money to sign with the Celtics last offseason, but the opportunity for such a significant pay raise was hard to turn down this summer.
Boston had Bird Rights on Kornet so it were technically able to offer the big man any deal. But the Celtics were limited with their budget due to their presence of the repeater tax.
The Celtics currently sit $15 million over the luxury tax line, but the repeater tax penalties are severe for Boston next season. Those penalties would have cost the Celtics tens of millions more beyond Kornet’s salary if they matched the Spurs offer without cutting money elsewhere.
With Al Horford also heavily rumored to depart to the Warriors on the opening night of free agency, the Celtics are left with a very thin depth chart currently at the big spot. Neemias Queta and Xavier Tillman are the only true bigs on the 15-man roster as of Monday night.
